


The Unlocking

by callay



Category: Dominion (TV)
Genre: M/M, Possession, Post-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-01
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-03-26 14:09:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3853498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callay/pseuds/callay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex hadn’t expected angelic possession to feel so <em>physical</em>.</p><p>It hits him in the chest, pressure squeezing his heart and pushing against his ribs. It’s cold like steel, but also <em>alive</em> – not just a steady push, but a repeated assault, like the beating of a heart that gets stronger and stronger, pulsing against Alex’s defenses.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Unlocking

**Author's Note:**

  * For [plingo_kat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/plingo_kat/gifts).



> The prompt was:
> 
> _Has anybody had the idea of Alex's ~mysterious powers~ from the tattoos being unlocked by possession to be a thing? But Alex IS destined for Michael, so Gabriel can't do it... While Michael has no experience with possessing others._
> 
> _CUE HOT THREESOME or super fucked up exploration of the archangel's relationship to each other/alex/god. Ether/or, I'm not picky._
> 
> So this isn't exactly either of the above! But I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Un-beta'd, so let me know if there are any mistakes.

Alex hadn’t expected angelic possession to feel so _physical_.

It hits him in the chest, pressure squeezing his heart and pushing against his ribs. It’s cold like steel, but also _alive_ – not just a steady push, but a repeated assault, like the beating of a heart that gets stronger and stronger, pulsing against Alex’s defenses.

Alex panics at the feeling, his whole body tensing. He instinctively calls up his training, trying to take a deep breath and force the coldness out with the strength of his will. It works, at first – the pressure eases, the shivery feeling lessens.

“Let me in,” growls a voice. Alex startles, coming back to the external world – Gabriel’s fortress, and Gabriel, sitting next to Alex in a blanket-draped corner – and in that moment of distraction, he feels his defenses shatter.

Instantly, the intrusion rushes into him, like a torrent of ice. Gabriel’s essence surrounds his soul, imprisoning it in a ball of power. Alex can’t even catch his breath, because tendrils are blooming from the core of power in his chest, spreading through his body. He twitches involuntarily as his limbs are taken over.

Alex is still there, still able to feel his body, but he’s helpless to control it. He _tries_ to move, throwing himself fruitlessly against the walls surrounding his will, but he knows it’s hopeless. He can feel it all as clearly as if it were physical reality: Gabriel’s essence, dark and cold and all-consuming, possessing every inch of him.

Gabriel must be able to feel Alex’s frantic attempts to regain control, because he _tsk_ s. With the merest twitch of power from Gabriel, Alex finds himself taking deep breaths, body going still and calm. “Alex,” says Gabriel chidingly. “You did agree to this.”

It’s still disturbing to be possessed, still makes Alex feel like his very soul is crawling – but the calming of his body does help calm Alex’s spirit as well. He did, in fact, agree to this, he admits to himself.

It was Gabriel’s idea, apparently born of some old text Uriel dug up: that an archangel’s possession could unlock the power of the markings. Alex still isn’t sure if he’s here to kill Gabriel or cooperate with him, but after everything he’s been through, any chance to understand the purpose of the markings is one he has to take.

Now that he’s thinking about the markings – they do feel different now that Gabriel’s possessing him, strange and itchy. Gabriel makes him push up his sleeves, and they both stare at the way the markings are vibrating, like each little line is a plucked string. There’s a sense of promise to it, an unspent energy.

“Well, that’s interesting,” mutters Gabriel, shifting closer to Alex. As he does, the markings quiver faster, prickling all over Alex’s skin. Experimentally, Gabriel reaches out and closes a hand around Alex’s wrist.

Instantly the markings start to move, crawling away from Gabriel’s touch, as if recoiling from it.

The retreating markings leave Alex’s forearm blank, as if they’d never been there. He can still feel them, though, crawling up his arm, then his shoulder, crowding together to move away from Gabriel’s touch. The markings get more and more concentrated as they retreat into a smaller area, and the more concentrated they are, the more they hurt. The prickling heightens to a burning pain –

Gabriel lets go of Alex. Immediately the markings start to slide back into place, pain replaced by just the tense itching. And then Gabriel releases his possession of Alex and that’s gone too.

Gabriel leaving happens quickly, cold tendrils withdrawing, the oppressive feeling of him pulling out in an instant. It still leaves Alex reeling. There’s a void in his chest where Gabriel had been and he feels lost and empty.

It takes a moment for Alex’s spirit to slowly uncurl and reclaim the empty space, patching over the hole where Gabriel pushed into him. Alex struggles for a moment before he feels completely in control of his body and he can suck in a deep breath.

Gabriel’s scowling. “Well, that certainly didn’t help.”

Alex nods wearily, spirit and skin still tingling from the ordeal. “Is there anything else we can try?”

“Yes,” says Gabriel, and the look of concentration on his face is Alex’s only warning before his essence pushes its way into Alex again.

***

Soon Alex gets used to being possessed, but it doesn’t get any easier. And nothing they try seems to get them any closer to unlocking the secrets of the markings. Gabriel only gets more and more frustrated.

Then one morning, Michael walks into the room with two of Gabriel’s guards escorting him.

Gabriel seems to have been expecting him, but Alex is taken by surprise. Emotions roil through him. His first reaction is an instinctive happiness – seeing Michael feels like being home, after so long in Gabriel’s dark, strange fortress. But then he remembers Senator Thorn crumpled on the ground, and Michael’s blade cutting into his side, and fear and dismay burn in his stomach.

Michael stops when he sees Alex, his mouth a tight line, his eyes wide, almost afraid.

“Ah, brother. You received my summons, I gather,” says Gabriel.

Alex ignores him. “What are you doing here?” he spits at Michael.

Michael’s eyes cut to Gabriel. “Gabriel told me he discovered a method of unlocking the Instructions.”

“ _Discovered_ isn’t quite the word,“ puts in Gabriel. “It’s more of a theory.”

“Let me guess – Michael’s supposed to possess me?”

Gabriel nods, but the idea seems new to Michael. “I don’t possess humans.”

“There’s a first time for everything, brother,” says Gabriel.

Alex is already shaking his head. “No way.”

Michael looks at him again, eyes bright. “Alex – I… apologize for what happened. I wasn’t myself.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Alex, please,” says Michael, voice quiet but intense. “If we can just unlock the markings, we’ll understand our Father’s plans. And then all of this will be over.”

He sounds so _lost_ as he says it, so desperate for guidance. Alex’s heart does a confused little swoop, still angry yet also desperate to wipe the pain off Michael’s face. He hesitates.

“Come on, Alex,” says Gabriel. “If it doesn’t work, we can all go back to hating each other. If it does – well – we’ll know what we have to do.” There’s a longing for answers in his voice too.

Slowly, Alex nods.

***

Normally, when Alex does this with Gabriel, he closes his eyes. But now he can’t bring himself to look away from Michael’s face. Michael’s gaze is fixed on him, eyes shadowed but still shining with intensity.

Michael reaches out a hand, and in time with the physical gesture, his essence touches Alex. Alex recognizes the pulse of it against his heart, but he gasps at the sensation of it – hot where Gabriel is cold, like a sudden burst of steam filling up his chest.

Alex isn’t trying to defend against the intrusion, but still Michael doesn’t seem to have the force to gain control. His will hovers there, and Alex tries to let it in – he closes his eyes and focuses on making his spirit small, on ducking away from the heat pushing into his chest. Still Michael just nudges against him, each touch more of a caress than a penetrative push.

Michael hisses in frustration, face gone drawn and focused. Gabriel, watching from beside them, seems pleased to see him struggling. “You were never especially good at possession, were you, brother?”

Michael bristles, withdrawing from Alex. “I have no need for it.”

“No, of course not. No need for spies, or subordinates, or to communicate with anyone at all – you have to do everything yourself.” Gabriel smirks. “Well, I’m afraid you don’t seem to be able to do this yourself. You need me.”

“You propose to… teach me how to possess humans?”

“That would take so very long. Humans are tricky – all that pesky free will trying to fight you off,” says Gabriel, grinning. “Instead, why don’t I just make the human easier to possess?”

Alex frowns at that. “What? How?”

In answer, Gabriel’s essence shoves into Alex’s chest. Alex, surprised, tenses instinctively, his own spirit pushing right back, trying to drive the intrusion away. Gabriel growls with effort, and his spirit surges, breaking Alex’s barriers and flooding into Alex’s body.

Alex doesn’t breathe for a moment, body spasming as Gabriel’s will takes it over. Then his mind catches up with what’s going on, and he relaxes – the chill of Gabriel spreading through his body is uncomfortable, but it is familiar. He waits to see what Gabriel’s planning to do.

And then, even faster than he came in, Gabriel furls his essence up and slips out of Alex. Alex twitches for a moment, his spirit hesitant to retake the empty space left by Gabriel.

Slowly it does, and that’s exactly when Gabriel pushes violently back into him, sweeping aside the meager defenses he’d been able to mount.

Alex shudders, confused. And then Gabriel lets him go again, and Alex thinks he understands – it’s harder this time to regain control of his body. His will feels weak after the possession, and it takes longer for it to stretch out and fill his body up.

He tries to say something, but his voice catches when Gabriel possesses him again. He expects it, but that doesn’t make it any less unpleasant, like jumping into icy water. But Gabriel leaving is worse still, leaving Alex empty and weak, spirit trembling.

As Gabriel keeps going, Alex starts to look forward to the possession, to the rush of Gabriel’s essence filling him. It’s the only antidote to the horrible void left when Gabriel leaves. He starts to crave it desperately.

Several more rounds of possession leave Alex whimpering, curled up on his side with his arms wrapped around his torso. His spirit feels worn down, stretched painfully thin and still not covering the hole Gabriel left in the core of him. Alex feels profoundly empty, like his chest is gaping open and there’s air rushing through his ribs, and all he can do is look forward to Gabriel filling him again.

Michael, who’s been watching silently, interjects. “Gabriel, is this really necessary?“

“You tell me,” says Gabriel. “He’s all yours, brother.”

The words filter through the daze that’s fallen over Alex. Need rushes over him and his whole being quivers, eager for Michael’s presence. He turns towards Michael, gasping. “Michael –“

Michael is unmoving, looking down at him, face twisted up in some emotion Alex can’t name.

Alex is too weak to stop the shudders that run through his body. All he can do is look at Michael and tremble, inside and out, and _want_ with all his heart. “Michael, please –“

“It’s okay,” says Michael, low, shifting closer, and then he leans down and pulls Alex to him, wrapping his arms around him. Alex whimpers. The warmth of Michael’s body is a comfort, but he still feels hollow inside.

Except then Michael’s essence is there, pushing into him. Alex’s spirit, strained so tight, yields with relief to the steady push. Alex almost sobs to feel Michael’s will slide into him like it belongs there. Michael fills him up, spreading bright and warm through every inch of him.

“ _Oh_ ,” says Michael, in his voice and Alex’s.

“Fun, isn’t it?” says Gabriel, close by.

“Yes,” says Michael, distracted. Alex’s skin feels tight and hot, with sensation rioting along it, an urgent pulse. On Alex’s arms, the markings are throbbing, shifting wildly. It’s similar to when Gabriel possessed him, but stronger: sharp jolts of sensation tingling from every part of him. And the markings are moving, too, spreading down his thighs and up his neck.

Gabriel’s saying something, but Alex doesn’t hear. His pulse is pounding in his ears as the markings crawl over his body, tracing lines up his face to vibrate against his hairline. He’s shaking again, barely stabilized by Michael’s arms around him.

And then Michael reaches up and touches Alex’s bare arm. It hits Alex like an electric shock, a jolt of power – and suddenly the markings rush up from Alex’s skin onto Michael’s arm. There’s power crackling over the surface of Alex’s skin and the churn of the markings moving just under it, shivering down Alex’s arm and onto Michael.

Alex wants to cry out at the feeling of it, but his will is still imprisoned, and all he can do is throw himself against the bright heat of Michael around him. Michael’s essence shudders, squeezing at Alex, as the markings disappear under Michael’s shirt and then spread further, onto his other arm, up his neck.

Alex can feel the markings moving over his whole body, running towards Michael, an endless flow of curling script. No matter how many lines move to Michael, tracing elegant curves over his cheekbones and rings around his wrists, Alex can still feel them on his own body, even prickling on his lips, pushing into his mouth to tingle on his tongue.

Gabriel’s watching Alex intently. Maybe he sees something in the churn of the markings across his lips, because he tells Michael, “Let him speak.”

“I can’t,” says Michael, voice hoarse. Alex wonders what he’s feeling – all the overwhelming sensation from Alex, the rush of the markings and the thrum of power, plus whatever the markings feel like on his own skin –

“Just let go of control of his head,” Gabriel tells Michael.

Alex feels a twisting sense of loss as Michael does, power slipping out of Alex’s face and throat. A tiny tendril of Alex’s will curls up to take its place.

Michael and Gabriel are both bent close to Alex, watching him like he’s about to speak words of prophecy. But Alex has nothing to say. He’s so distracted, by the surge of the tattoos and the pulse of Michael’s essence inside him, and all he can do is gasp, “Michael.”

And then his body is moving, and Michael’s leaning in, in perfect sync, and Michael’s kissing him. Just a plain, hard press of lips, but the contact is another shock that jolts through Alex’s whole body. The markings are rioting in his mouth, and when their lips part, and he thinks he can feel the characters jumping from his tongue to Michael’s like sparks of electricity.

It’s so intense, Michael’s tongue hot in his mouth, the markings shivering and prickling across the sensitive surface of his tongue, that Alex is stunned, aware of nothing but the contact between them. It’s only a few heartbeats before Michael pulls away, breathing fast, and Alex is almost sobbing.

The markings are even denser on Michael’s face now, like some arcane war paint. They’re still twining up his arm from where his hand is on Alex’s skin, but not as fast as they spread across their lips. Michael’s eyes are locked on Alex’s again, huge and dark, and Alex doesn’t know what comes next, but he wants to know –

“Alex – let me –“ hisses Gabriel from close by, hand on Alex’s shoulder. Alex feels Michael tremble at that, just the pressure of Gabriel’s hand, and that’s what makes him turn his head and tilt his chin up so Gabriel can kiss him. Because he knows Michael can feel it, the press of Gabriel’s lips, the sweep of Gabriel’s tongue, possessive.

The markings shiver at Gabriel’s touch but don’t move, and Gabriel pulls back, frustrated. Michael’s eyes are on him, and as he does, their gazes meet and catch. Alex’s stomach does a flip at the tension that passes between them, at the way that Gabriel’s eyes slide to Michael’s lips.

“Take him,” says Michael hoarsely. A shock of confusion runs through Alex, because he doesn’t want Gabriel to possess him, not when he can have Michael instead, so much gentler and warmer.

Gabriel almost growls, shifting the force of his gaze to Alex, and suddenly Alex feels the pressure of Gabriel in his chest.

He makes a little whimper of surprise and confusion. For all Alex’s spirit is raw and worn down, Michael’s essence is still filling up all the open space. There’s no room for Gabriel. Alex will shatter into a million pieces.

But Gabriel keeps pushing, mouth half-open in a grimace of effort, will pounding against Alex’s chest like a battering ram. Michael draws in a shaking breath close to Alex’s face, and then his essence is drawing back, leaving only the smallest layer of heat to support Alex’s will. Gabriel easily breaks through.

And then Alex is being possessed by both of them. Alex’s body jerks, spasming in Michael’s arms, as the tendrils of power shoot through him, first cold then hot, dark then light, twisting and pushing against each other.

He thought they were fighting, but he realizes suddenly it’s a dance, the joyous swirl of two halves meeting. The essences twine together inside him, forming one whole. There’s a giddy feeling to it, like a reunion that’s been a long time coming, and it makes Alex’s heart soar.

Distantly Alex is aware of his physical body. He can feel the markings moving, warm and tingling on his skin. The three of them are lying down, Michael pressed close to him and Gabriel up against his back. Gabriel’s groaning, leaning in to press his mouth against the back of Alex’s neck.

Just like before, the markings shy away from Gabriel’s touch, shifting down the planes of Alex’s back. But they don’t accumulate painfully in one place, because Michael’s got his hand curled around the corner of Alex’s jaw, and the markings just crawl up Alex’s neck and onto Michael.

Alex’s eyes are open and he slowly focuses past the swirl of power inside him. He sees that Michael’s eyes are shining with tears, but he’s smiling, like Alex hasn’t seen before, smiling as he holds on to Alex and his essence twines with Gabriel’s.

Michael reaches out, and he clasps arms with Gabriel over Alex’s side. Instantly the shift of the tattoos gets more urgent. Alex turns his head to watch as the markings slide down Michael’s arm and onto Gabriel’s, curling around Gabriel’s forearm.

Alex feels his body shift and he’s not sure who’s responsible, but he’s got his legs tangled up in Michael’s and he twists his torso towards Gabriel, the better to watch the markings running over his skin. He can feel if not see when the markings surge up over Gabriel’s face, because there’s the electric snap of a completed circle as the markings rush from Gabriel’s skin back onto Alex.

The three of them are covered in markings now, churning, crawling slowly around in a never-ending cycle, from Alex to Michael to Gabriel and back to Alex. Inside Alex, their essences spin together, an ever-rising helix, joyful and giddy. The whole thing is dizzying. They’re all three almost sobbing, Gabriel’s deep rasping breaths against Alex’s skin and Michael’s gasps of an inhale, and Alex, in his body that’s not his any more, not merely his.

The power of the markings keeps building. They feel like they’re sinking into Alex’s skin, carving a path through him. It’s not painful – it feels good, actually, the pressure like an embrace, separate and deeper than the embrace of Michael and Gabriel’s arms around him. There’s heat burning through every curl and line, and the pressure keeps building, until all of a sudden it’s at a breaking point, like it will crush them, force the three of their souls into a single uniform diamond. They can all feel it; they all cry out and their essences shake inside Alex.

And then –

There’s a sensation of freedom, of the pressure rushing away, from every inch of Alex’s body. Alex gasps in a huge breath and opens his eyes and –

The markings are floating.

His skin, and Michael’s and Gabriel’s, are clear. Instead, hanging calmly in the air, as if from invisible strings, are the markings – or at least, he recognizes the style. But he can read them now, with perfect clarity.

Just as promised, it’s instructions. God’s plan for the world in his absence.

It will take a long time to read and understand everything, but that doesn’t stop a sense of peace from breaking over Alex like a cool wave. Inside him, the twining gyre of Michael and Gabriel’s essences falls still.

They left the past behind a long time ago, and they’ll face the future soon – but for now, the three of them stay like this for a moment, bodies and souls pressed close.


End file.
